Ah let’s see…Where to begin? I found myself tapping into “high school Nicole” a lot while reading the selection of texts that we were assigned. I’ve always considered myself to be a decent writer—I sometimes struggle with eloquently writing the thoughts I have in my head—and I always felt intimidated by people who talk about their process of writing as some long, emotional, exhausting journey. That just isn’t how I roll. However, I think I was intimidated by others peoples’ processes because I was not aware that I had one. Turns out, I do, and I becoming aware of the way that I write has aided in the success of my work. It was refreshing to read the Dornan text and hear the processes of the authors of the book. To see the differentiation amongst authors, who clearly know what they are doing, made me feel better about not having one that I had perceived to be normal.
So basically, what I am getting at with all this “me” talk is the fact that not understanding the process that I went through while writing was something that may have inhibited my work, or at least how I perceived my work in comparison to others. If I, a twenty-three-year-old college graduate was self-conscious about the way that I write, then I would be willing to bet a large amount of money that a middle school/high school student may have similar feelings. I think that being explicit with students and encouraging them to find a writing style that works for them is the way to go. I would never want to force my crazed-anxious way of writing on to another person unless it truly worked for them.
On another note, but still speaking to the writing process— One of the assumptions about writing that Dornan et al speak of in the text is the “[d]evelopment of our own writing can be facilitated by becoming more conscious of our writing process...When we think about the writing that we find most compelling, it’s often writing for someone other than a teacher—someone real (6). I have been really grappling over the importance of a student’s writing being seen by more than just the teacher’s eyes (and red pen). I think that we can kill a lot of birds with one stone here. Blogging is something that I have considered greatly while contemplating the ways in which I will some day teach students. First of all, it is a form of communication that most students are comfortable with. Secondly, students will take more care to the work that they do when they know it will be seen by more than just the teacher—specifically their peers. Lastly, blogging is usually reserved for topics of concern to the people that use them. Of course, other options would be made available for those that don’t feel comfortable blogging, or for those that have a different way they would like to share their ideas. Even if I decide to not use blogging as a way of assignment submission in my future classroom, I would still encourage my students to do this, or journaling, to get exposure to the way that the think, feel and write.
Here is a resource that I easily found, but offers a lot of different strategies to get students to want to write.
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that I, too, often nervous about my writing technique – in the sense that I sometimes do not feel that I have one either! I remember in high school, and even college, being told the “correct” way to write an outline (and having it be a part my paper’s final grade), then the “right” steps to take when correcting, revising, and editing. Even though I’ve always enjoyed writing and never had a problem making words appear on the page, I feel like I do not always follow this scripted process. However, I feel that sometimes without realizing it, I do these steps, somewhat unconsciously, to come up with a perfected final product.
I like, and agree, with your comment that sometimes a writing process (as the one I mentioned above for myself) can hinder and inhibit work. I have been wondering the same thing myself: if I, an English teacher (or almost English teacher) feel that I have trouble writing fluidly sometimes, how can I expect my middle school students not to feel the same? I like the quote you used from the Dornan text, in which you said/he said that the development of writing can be facilitated by being more conscious of our own writing processes. Even though it may be difficult, and even uncomfortable, to approach these issues as writers, we have to hope the, in the long run, it is helping mold our students to be confident and competent producers of writing.
Lastly, I enjoyed looking over the resource you provided: 30 ideas for teaching writing. I liked how it listed out the steps clearly and easily. Often, in texts such as Dornan, I feel that such heavy text can sometimes seem too “theoretical” instead of applicable. I feel that sometimes, when I’m looking for support and resources in my teaching, it is difficult to navigate through heavy text and analyze ideas and make them my own. While that does help me think things through more deeply, this was nice to have clear-cut ideas and I found I was simultaneously thinking of ways I could shape the activities/prompts to fit my current students at Northeast Middle School. I’m bookmarking this webpage; thanks, Nicole!
Leigh